Clinical Research Directory

Prospective Study of Postictal Psychotic Symptoms Occuring After Video-EEG Monitoring in Focal Epilepsies

Psychotic disorders are up to eight times more prevalent in patients with epilepsy compared to the general population. Among them, postictal psychosis (PIP) is a severe complication of focal epilepsy, characterized by a brief psychotic episode emerging days after a seizure. This project investigates a potentially attenuated and under-recognized manifestation-postictal psychotic symptoms (PPs)-that may arise following hospitalization in a video-EEG monitoring unit and might serve as an early indicator for future PIP. We hypothesize that the incidence of PPs is substantially higher than the 3% PIP prevalence reported in the literature and that their occurrence correlates with the intensity of epileptic activity triggered during video-EEG monitoring. The study has three main objectives: (1) to determine the incidence of PPs in patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy, (2) to identify predictive factors associated with PPs, and (3) to assess the validity of the PQ-16 screening tool in this clinical context. A prospective monocentric study will be conducted in the video-EEG unit of Nancy University Hospital. One hundred and ten patients hospitalized for at least five days will be included. Psychiatric assessments will include standardized clinical interviews, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scoring, and self-report questionnaires. These evaluations will take place at three timepoints: baseline (V1), 3-5 days post-discharge (V2), and two months post-discharge (V3). This study aims to facilitate the early identification of PPs and support the development of preventive strategies, ultimately improving psychiatric care and overall management in patients with epilepsy.